Shapechanger. If the vampire isn’t in sunlight or running water, it can use its action to polymorph into a Tiny bat or a Medium cloud of mist, or back into its true form.
While in bat form, the vampire can’t speak, its walking speed is 5 feet, and it has a flying speed of 30 feet. Its statistics, other than its size and speed, are unchanged. Anything it is wearing transforms with it, but nothing it is carrying does. It reverts to its true form if it dies.
While in mist form, the vampire can’t take any actions, speak, or manipulate objects. It is weightless, has a flying speed of 20 feet, can hover, and can enter a hostile creature’s space and stop there. In addition, if air can pass through a space, the mist can do so without squeezing, and it can’t pass through water. It has advantage on Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution saving throws, and it is immune to all nonmagical damage, except the damage it takes from sunlight.
Legendary Resistance (3/Day). If the vampire fails a saving throw, it can choose to succeed instead.
Misty Escape. When it drops to 0 hit points outside its resting place, the vampire transforms into a cloud of mist (as in the Shapechanger trait) instead of falling unconscious, provided that it isn’t in sunlight or running water. If it can’t transform, it is destroyed.
While it has 0 hit points in mist form, it can’t revert to its vampire form, and it must reach its resting place within 2 hours or be destroyed. Once in its resting place, it reverts to its vampire form. It is then paralyzed until it regains at least 1 hit point. After spending 1 hour in its resting place with 0 hit points, it regains 1 hit point.
Regeneration. The vampire regains 20 hit points at the start of its turn if it has at least 1 hit point and isn’t in sunlight or running water. If the vampire takes radiant damage or damage from holy water, this trait doesn’t function at the start of the vampire’s next turn.
Spider Climb. The vampire can climb difficult surfaces, including upside down on ceilings, without needing to make an ability check.
Vampire Weaknesses. The vampire has the following flaws:
Forbiddance. The vampire can’t enter a residence without an invitation from one of the occupants.
Harmed by Running Water. The vampire takes 20 acid damage if it ends its turn in running water.
Stake to the Heart. If a piercing weapon made of wood is driven into the vampire’s heart while the vampire is incapacitated in its resting place, the vampire is paralyzed until the stake is removed.
Sunlight Hypersensitivity. The vampire takes 20 radiant damage when it starts its turn in sunlight. While in sunlight, it has disadvantage on attack rolls and ability checks.
Multiattack. (Vampire Form Only). The vampire makes two attacks, only one of which can be a bite attack.
Unarmed Strike (Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one creature. Hit: 8 (1d8 + 4) bludgeoning damage. Instead of dealing damage, the vampire can grapple the target (escape DC 18).
Bite. (Bat or Vampire Form Only). Melee Weapon Attack: +9 to hit, reach 5 ft., one willing creature, or a creature that is grappled by the vampire, incapacitated, or restrained. Hit: 7 (1d6 + 4) piercing damage plus 10 (3d6) necrotic damage. The target’s hit point maximum is reduced by an amount equal to the necrotic damage taken, and the vampire regains hit points equal to that amount. The reduction lasts until the target finishes a long rest. The target dies if this effect reduces its hit point maximum to 0. A humanoid slain in this way and then buried in the ground rises the following night as a vampire spawn under the vampire’s control.
Charm. The vampire targets one humanoid it can see within 30 feet of it. If the target can see the vampire, the target must succeed on a DC 17 Wisdom saving throw against this magic or be charmed by the vampire. The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the vampire’s control, it takes the vampire’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire’s bite attack.
Each time the vampire or the vampire’s companions do anything harmful to the target, it can repeat the saving throw, ending the effect on itself on a success. Otherwise, the effect lasts 24 hours or until the vampire is destroyed, is on a different plane of existence than the target, or takes a bonus action to end the effect.
Children of the Night (1/Day). The vampire magically calls 2d4 swarms of bats or rats, provided that the sun isn’t up. While outdoors, the vampire can call 3d6 wolves instead. The called creatures arrive in 1d4 rounds, acting as allies of the vampire and obeying its spoken commands. The beasts remain for 1 hour, until the vampire dies, or until the vampire dismisses them as a bonus action.
The vampire can take 3 legendary actions, choosing from the options below. Only one legendary action option can be used at a time and only at the end of another creature’s turn. The vampire regains spent legendary actions at the start of its turn.
Move. The vampire moves up to its speed without provoking opportunity attacks.
Unarmed Strike. The vampire makes one unarmed strike.
Bite (Costs 2 Actions). The vampire makes one bite attack.
A Vampire’s Lair
A vampire chooses a grand yet defensible location for its lair, such as a castle, fortified manor, or walled abbey. It hides its coffin in an underground crypt or vault guarded by vampire spawn or other loyal creatures of the night.
Regional Effects
The region surrounding a vampire’s lair is warped by the creature’s unnatural presence, creating any of the following effects:
- There’s a noticeable increase in the populations of bats, rats, and wolves in the region.
- Plants within 500 feet of the lair wither, and their stems and branches become twisted and thorny.
- Shadows cast within 500 feet of the lair seem abnormally gaunt and sometimes move as though alive.
- A creeping fog clings to the ground within 500 feet of the vampire’s lair. The fog occasionally takes eerie forms, such as grasping claws and writhing serpents.
If the vampire is destroyed, these effects end after 2d6 days.
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Posted Feb 1, 2021Probably a paladin at lvl 12 could solo a vampire. That being said, a paladin at a lower level with a sun blade would shove a vampire in a locker and steal his lunch money.
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Posted Feb 2, 2021So the only RAW way to cure someone of vampirism is a wish spell or to kill them and resurrect them, but what happens when you do? Specifically, do they retain all the memories they had as a vampire, or only those since before they were transformed? Does a vampire technically have its original soul, twisted as it now may be, or does the soul leave the body, and only undeath with memories of an old life remaining?
If there isn't a RAW answer to memories, I might be inclined to say they don't remember their time as a vampire for two reasons:
Again, if there is a RAW answer to retaining memories, I'd love to hear it.
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Posted Feb 7, 2021I think it's up to the DM to decide that.
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Posted Feb 18, 2021So, question because a party I was in just fought these. Can you kill the vampire while they're in mist form? Like, if they're trying to escape back to their resting place with Misty Escape, can you still kill them with magic, or do you have to wait for them to get to their resting place?
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Posted Feb 18, 2021I think you technically can’t slay a vampire with direct damage, but you can trap the mist with a spell like “Stone shape” or “Wall of Force“ and it’ll expire eventually.
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Posted Feb 18, 2021Wow, this page has really been expanded.
Even though I own more books now, the free content section still gives great value.
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Posted Mar 10, 2021Me: how do I do a vampire like the Cullens in twilight?
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Posted Mar 10, 2021If a wizard would be to turn into a vampire, would they keep their spells, and could they learn new spells?
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Posted Mar 18, 2021Yes. In general, vampires retain all their class features, which is one of the reasons they are so dangerous.
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Posted Mar 24, 2021So my party thinks silver hurts vampires and so did I until I looked it up. Boy, will they be disappointed when the vampire doesn't react to silver in any special way...
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Posted Mar 28, 2021my curse of strahd campaign ended when the paladin critted and instantly killed starhd so yes its VERY possible
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Posted Apr 11, 2021WEAK :(
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Posted Apr 12, 2021Pretty much shouldn't of allowed this to happen.
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Posted Apr 20, 2021I became a vampire (as a player) and had so much fun!
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Posted May 15, 2021I'm thinking about running a campaign where a vampire that is the main villain used to be a paladin so i'm giving him a holy avenger. should I give him the paladin class features of a 17th level paladin?
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Posted Jun 21, 2021remember on supernatural dean says Vamp mimes! they arent just a vamp.. nor a mime! there both lol
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Posted Jun 30, 2021Hey everyone, question about the vampire charm in combat. Namely how does it work? I’m running a campaign with a vampire warrior as the big bad, the way I see charm is that if you fail and I suggest you sit in the corner for the fight, you have to do that and just stay there. After complaining to me we settled on my rolling persuasion with advantage vs his insight, for me to command him around. Some one explain charm in a combat, am I doing it wrong or right? Thanks
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Posted Jul 31, 2021this is great it helped me so much in my campaign
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Posted Aug 16, 2021I’m a level 8 paladin and our party just got ambushed by a vampire who charmed our barbarian and one shot our wizard. So with only me and the bard left we are about to find out if a level 8 paladin can do it with none of those things lol.
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Posted Aug 31, 2021The effects of the charmed condition are:
Anything beyond that is described within the source of the effect. In this case: "The charmed target regards the vampire as a trusted friend to be heeded and protected. Although the target isn’t under the vampire’s control, it takes the vampire’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can, and it is a willing target for the vampire’s bite attack."
So the charmed creature retains its free will, for the most part, it's just that it would prioritize doing things that would benefit the vampire. For example:
It's a rather tricky thing, because players will always try to be "clever" and attempt to harm the vampire "by accident" (which is not allowed by the condition itself), such as by throwing a Fireball that will hit only 1 PC (that may even have Evasion), yet also affect several of the vampire's minions (and potentially the vampire as well). As such, it's just easier to say as the DM "The vampire is your ally, the other PCs are your enemy. Kill them."
Going for the vampire's minions may be a loop hole for the effect (because the minions are not protected by the effects of charm), however, only until the vampire asks them to stop, because remember "it takes the vampire’s requests or actions in the most favorable way it can."